I truly needed an outlet

 Y'all know, by now, I am opinionated but that opinion stems from research. Sometimes, from years of research. I do not play the political party game. I question everything! I believe some conspiracy theories may be true while others are just pathetic. I think for myself, and what is best for my situations. I'm sure this true for millions of people. I believe bashing others for having different opinions is disrespectful, and childish. I do believe America and Americans should always come first in America. I believe in our Constitution, our Bill Of Rights, and design of limited government. I believe too much government intrusion into our lives has brought us to where we are today. 

I am angry and honestly pissed over behaviors I saw yesterday at our Capitol Building. The thugs that created that crime now are comparable to the criminal thugs from this past Summer that were burning down businesses, looting, breaking into federal buildings and created violent acts. They are ALL criminal. They should all be convicted and locked away. There is nothing patriotic about violence. NOTHING! That's not to say I won't defend myself or my family if necessary; but I will not create violence to further an agenda. There is a huge difference. Crime and criminals are not uncommon in our country, and even more troubling is anyone that would defend such behavior.Our Constitution allows for us to protest peacefully. It does not say "mostly peacefully." Peaceful protest is a right, and every single right within our Constitution, needs to be upheld and protected to no end. 

The political elites that we continue to elect or reelect into our Congress and Senate should be of more concern, or at least of equal concern, than who is elected for 4-8 years in the White House. Some of these people have been in office since JFK. It's past time for term limits. We the people, have lost our representation in DC.  On both sides of political spectrum, sadly. Democrats hate Republicans, and vise versa, but it's not about them....or it was never meant to be about them. BOTH parties have become power hungry, greedy elites. These are not our rulers, folks. These people are supposed to be elected to represent the people of the districts they are elected for. Public service was not supposed to be about lobbying, special interests, or big corporations. Sure they all play a role, but the American citizens have been pushed to a back burner. There have been so many extremists from both parties, that many millions of Americans have lost their voice of reason. I know I am not alone in my thinking. Many Democrat, Republican and Independent friends have all voiced the same concerns. 

I know our country is very diverse. That is what makes America such an exceptional country. What has taken place in this country over several decades has been shameful. The elite in political positions have divided our country by gender, race, religion, sexual preference and political affiliation. They have continually flamed fires that have caused the messes we currently face. It's not a matter of what divisional category we fall into...for them, it's all about baiting us against each other. It's truly sad. There are rotten, ignorant and criminal people out there...that's what happens when crimes are no longer punished. The largest majority within our country are good, honest, hard working people. It's not about sex, sexual preference, race, religion, or whatever; it's about being good, integrity driven people. It's about each of us looking out for each other, without demanding that one another change to be in complete agreement with the other. 

It is sad to me that no matter how many good people we have among our 330 million person society, that the focus remains on the select propaganda that is inudating the current media outlets. Don't worry, I am not going to throw in any endorsement of any political party, quite frankly, they are all corrupt and out-of-touch. The Republicans saw the acceptable behavior codes of most of 2020, and they decided to take a page out of the play book. The Democrats have played the race/division card so much that that fire is now a raging inferno. I know there is racism out there. I know there are ignorant people out there. The issue I have is that the vast majority of Americans are not like the focused few. I personally do not care what divisional category you fall into. I do care when people I know to be inherently good people are degraded, belittled or attacked for standing beside their beliefs. When someone hurls insults of another for disagreeing with someone else's opinion; that is wrong. 

I live my life by my morals, values, beliefs and being taught to see both sides to every story. There have been 7 presidential elections since I was old enough to vote, I voted 4 times Democrat, 2 times Republican and didn't vote 1 time. By political standards that would have me leaning Democrat. However, my dislike of the direction our country has been on for several years now, has me truly dismayed. Friends, most of us are not that different. Most of us are good people, hard working people, and do our best to respectful as possible. None of the politicians in DC truly listen to their people anymore. It's up to the true Americans to bring our country back together. It's up to the majority of Americans to find a way to get back to the middle of the road. Our government has gotten too big, too powerful, and way too greedy. 

I have strong beliefs that tend to upset most, and while I won't apologize for beliefs, just as you should not apologize for yours, they are not popular. I believe in our Constitution, our Bill Of Rights, our ability to be good citizens. What I don't agree with: big government, politicizing health care, dividing people by ignorant labels, that religion should be in schools(if you accept one, you should accept all), that government should have any involvement in the educational system, or that politicians should be allowed to accept any lobby monies. America was built on self-governing, self-responsibility, limited government, and equal opportunity for all. Yes, I know about slaves, and women's suffrage and Native Americans. ALL of these former mentioned atrocities were before our time. We need American History taught exactly as it happened, so we do not repeat the same pathetic mistakes. It's up to each of us to do our part though. If we walk around feeling entitled, feeling pity for our situations, blaming others for our own lack of responsibilities...this is all the better we will ever have. Sure, there is a great fear of the unknown for many. Every 4 years, there is that fear, and it's driven by media crap saying that one person or the other is the enemy, "Hitler" seems to have been played a LOT over the past 8 years. There is a fear of the extremist people in elected offices. That is undeniable. FROM BOTH PARTIES! 

To anyone that may read this, as an American, I am going to ask several things of our citizens. We know the vote certification has been finalized. Biden/Harris in our next President/Vice-President of the United States. We have elected a Democratic majority to our House and Senate; which eliminates all checks & balance systems. This is not the first time any of the 2020 election circus has happened. The good people of America are the only people that can make our country be an incredible country for all law abiding citizens. It's not about creating new laws, it's about following the current laws, prosecuting criminals, putting them in prison. It's about relearning to respect each other, even if we have different points of view. It's about accepting our differences and celebrating them not polarizing them. It's time the good people of America are celebrated. It's time we stop having to label everyone and everything. We are Americans...not white, brown, red, male, female, straight, bi, gay, catholic, baptist, or whatever. Each of us are Americans first. Between constant wars in both the literal term and the war of words and violence, the isolation from disease, and a whole lot of nonsense; we have come to an impasse. If we continue on the current path, there will be uprisings within our borders. There will be extremists from both parties adding fuel to every fire, and there are some citizens that will do everything possible to stay on their pity party train. We can not play into that dangerous game. That game is what has had our country in uprising since last year. We are better than this. I don't care if you are staunch supporter of a political party, if you are a good person, you should be treated as such. 

I am fearful that many of our rights and liberties are now hanging in a balance. I am concerned that the extremism that has taken over many parts of our government will now be pushing through some very unAmerican protocols. Honestly, since there was no investigation if any of the voter inaccuracies held any merit, I am concerned about future elections. However, the vast majority of our country are good people, law abiding people, and I pray that the majority of good people are able to find a bridge that will be of benefit for all. I will end today knowing that I will always do my best to be one of those good people. I hope others with join in to make a movement of integrity, safety, fairness, and Constitutionally driven Americans.

Salli

Why you do homestead?

 

 

 

A fellow blogger and homesteader posed a question a few days ago, and it made me ask myself the same question. I believe our initial reason was similar to hers but here's my "why."

Sometimes, you find yourself in an environment that not only allows you to make changes but also requires it. Going back 23 years, I moved to Missouri to begin a life of my own. At 22 years old, I was looking for something more. I had worked a few jobs that gave me the same type of life I had always lived, but I felt there was more I needed. I was looking for something, that I wasn't finding. So, I loaded up my Dodge Omni, and took off for Missouri. For the first year, it was hard! I didn't know anyone, I was not familiar with the area enough, and life here...was a LOT different than anything I had ever experienced. While I was looking for my something more...my first year was almost too much. 

Anyway, in 1998 I was attending college classes, bartending and waitressing, and adjusting to this life. That was when most of what I had known kind of got turned on its head. I met my now husband, and life took another turn. He was your typical farm kid. Grew up with animals, working hard, and playing hard. He could be a little overwhelming. We had a lot of differing opinions, a lot of head butting stubbornness, and while our ideals were similar...we had a lot of excess baggage that played into our relationship for several years. We moved in together the end of 98, but being a town kid did not prepare me for the life I was about to embark on. I had always lived outside of town, but living in rural America, is a whole other world within itself. You don't realize how many different life styles there are within one country, until you experience it. So, we moved from a town to rural Missouri, and my forced growth began.

This area is a lower income area. Wages and jobs are not as prevalent as they are in larger areas. So you learn to live within your means, as much as possible. Our early years of marriage, were tough! Finances were super tight, we were 2 very different people trying to co-exist, then a year in we had our oldest child, and that brought in more struggles. Differing beliefs about raising our child ended with me being a stay-at-home mom for most of my oldest childs life. Once I became a stay-at-home mom, that's when my homestead lifestyle began. I learned to garden, I learned to preserve our foods, I have learned to budget on a shoestring, make something out of nothing, and I taught myself to survive. My husband grew up hunting, fishing, farming, working with livestock and living in the middle of nowhere. I did not! So, for me, it got lonely and I got bored...often! Basically, even though I was raising a child, I had too much time on my hands, that I was not accustomed to. It was during that time, that my love of learning really hit. 

So, 22 years into my marriage and 23 years in rural America, here is my "why."

In 2001, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was caught early, but it scares the tar out of you when you hear that word. As I said earlier, I had plenty of time to research and learn, so I studied every possible thing I could get my hands on about cancer, about cures, about holistic cures, and diet. Honestly, one thing led to another, and I have not stopped learning to this day. After my surgery, medications and subsequent illnesses, I knew that there had to be a better way. I learned that our diets and lifestyles have played a huge role in our increasing illnesses. I began studying known carcinogens. Of which, there are so many in our food supplies! My oldest child had some allergies, but not horrible, but mine were awful. My husband had grown up with homegrown food, fresh meat that they raised, and mostly cleaner life than I did. However, I did not, and learning about that side of things was difficult for me. I honestly fought this life for many years. Anyway, I learned the importance of adding back into our diets the nutrients that were missing or removed from processed foods, fast food and bleached foods. I learned to garden, to can or freeze foods, how to fertilize without chemicals, and eventually I began learning how to raise animals. Through all of this, I kept learning. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn, and the more I wanted to get my family onto a better diet. Our financial status has always been tight. We learned early to make due with one income. While growing a garden can produce enough to help with your over all food budget, the initial investment is anything but cheap. We invested, and then invested even more on canning supplies and invested time to enhance our gardens. When I first began gardening and canning, I had help learning from my husband's grandmothers. One even told me, when we were first married, that I had better learn to take care of him like he was used to be caring for, or I would never last. She turned out to be one of my best teachers, and one that showed me so many options. I truly miss her!! 

My "why" has so many aspects to it. I have learned, grown and expanded my own mind. Some out of necessity, and some out of sheer desire. Needing the extra food was a big driving force, but needing quality food without chemicals, became my life goal. After learning to read labels, and recognize all the chemicals lurking in our foods...we began growing our homesteading lifestyle. There is so much crap in the foods we purchase. Not to mention the lack of vital vitamins, minerals and nutrients. So, as learn I learned more, we expanded more. First we gardened, then we added chickens, and then we kind of stalled out for a few years. My own allergies improved some with changing our diets, and that made me wonder how much they would change with a complete switch. In 2008, I began a course in Natural Health Consulting. I ended up graduating in April 2009 with honors, and a few holistic contacts. During that course, I learned the different types of holistic medicine; there are several. We got a small course in each of the practices, and my love of learning exploded. I wanted to learn so much. So, I have continued to learn about holistic medicine. I learned about each of the practices, and that lead to learning about Mind, Body, Spirit connections. These connections opened my eyes to the metaphysical world. This was truly my hardest lessons to understand. It is more difficult to understand things that aren't tangible or to some degree even accepted by many. Once I began learning it, it became more apparent that there is still so much to learn! 

10 years ago, we moved to our little farm. We have added cows, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks. Even though we spent a couple years away from the farm, I have learned that diet is definitely something of importance when you are trying to heal illnesses. Taking a couple years away from our farm, eating more store bought food and less homegrown food, my allergies have increased ten fold. We are on track to be back to our normal lives; fresh grown foods, farm raised meats, and growing or raising at least, 90% of our foods this year. 

As I continue to learn and grow from gardening, canning, livestock producing, herb growing and use, and how to add nutrients to our food supply...I have to say, this is my why. To make sure my family has the best possible food supply, know how to use herbs and spices to heal, and to be self-sufficient if need be. It can be hard, and when it's cold/rainy/stormy...it really makes you question your decisions, or when you are forced to stay home because your chores are necessary in the morning and at night, when you may have weeks or months when you don't see or talk to anyone that doesn't live in your house. 

Rural lifestyles aren't for everyone. It takes a lot resolve to keep going when nothing seems to go right. It takes dedication to your goals even when others don't accept or understand them. For me, it has become one of the most rewarding lifestyles I could have made. It's a lot of work, it can be frustrating, but the fruits of your efforts are beyond rewarding.